How do you inspire thousands to achieve more?

Müller UK & Ireland employs around 6,000 people across their Müller Dairy, Müller Wiseman Dairies, TM UK Production and TM Telford units. In December 2015, they acquired Dairy Crest’s operations, adding a further 2,700 employees to the group.

THE CHALLENGE

To achieve its ambition of becoming the UK’s biggest and best dairy company, Müller understood it must inspire and empower all of its people – building them into one great organisation guided by their core corporate values.

Our challenge was to clearly communicate these group values to the thousands of Müller employees, in all functions, in a way that would unite, excite and motivate them. As this was about building a culture that would grow in a focused, sustained, entrepreneurial and measured way, it was also vital that we reached every single individual across the business, from IT to production and drivers to finance.

How do you unite a diverse group of employees to achieve a common goal?

OUR APPROACH

To bring Müller’s values to life, four key objectives were identified. They must unite and excite. They must inspire behavioural alignment and action. They had to be credible, memorable and practical. And not least, they had to be built to last.

We began by thoroughly auditing and reviewing the company’s internal communications. We conducted one-to-one interviews with directors in Communications, Marketing and HR, plus HR managers across each business unit.

We then held a creative workshop to define the personality, tone and content of Müller’s internal communications.

A ‘High Performing Team’ brand was created to rally the workforce. This combined an inspiring visual and verbal style with galvanising narratives articulating each of the company’s values. To ensure these would resonate with employees, we held photoshoots and interviews across sites.

Employees were asked to celebrate their roles and teams in their own words, which were then used within the creative.

Then, to make sure the values are front-of-mind and seen by all, environmental graphics were installed at each of Müller’s 19 sites, managed with a ‘kit of parts’ approach and tailored to each site.

Ultimately, working to the best of our ability with creativity, pride and integrity is what it's all about at Müller. Our new shared values unite everyone together in this thinking. They are now well embedded, present throughout all our communications channels and visible in all sites by way of a kit of environmental parts. They act as the foundation to motivation, helping all colleagues feel part of a united and connected group purpose and culture.

The turnover for Müller Dairy is currently tracking at 0.4%, which is absolutely fantastic.

- LAURA MCGEACHIN / Reward Manager Müller UK & Ireland

THE RESULT

The ‘High Performing Team’ brand was launched at the Müller management conference in March 2015. Simultaneously, a branded email was sent to all employees, and display screens across all sites also projected the brand messaging, to ensure that those without email were also reached.

It took a multi-channel approach to reach Müller’s diverse employee audiences. This included guidelines and toolkits, the redevelopment of Müller’s intranet, the redesign of HR materials and their online career portal. Printed communications were also given to every employee.

Engagement activity also included a ‘Recognition Scheme’. This allowed employees to thank colleagues who had helped them and to nominate those delivering incredible service aligned with each value. So far 75% of Müller Dairy employees have participated in the ‘Thank You’ scheme and 45% of Müller Dairy employees have nominated a colleague in recognition of their work.